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No. 62|,26Il Patented Mar. I4, |899.

v W. E. LUDLUW.

RAIL CHAIR.

(Application led Dec. 7, 1898.)

(No Model.)

livin WILLIAM E. LUDLOW, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO TI-I-E AMERICAN RAIL JOINT AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 62 1,261, dated March 14, 1899. Application filed December 7, 1898. Serial No. 698.507. (No model.)

To au whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. LUDLow, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland,l in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have linvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rail-Chairs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of the invention is to provide for the meeting edges of rails a rail-chair hav. ing certain novel features of construction whereby the chair members will maintain a close contact with the rails and especially with the under side of the flange of the rails.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient bond for electrically connecting said rails.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the chair between the two rails which it is adapted to connect. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one chair member. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the other chair member; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the former chair member, showing the bond as it appears before the chair is applied to the rai v The chair is composediof two members A and B, each of which consists of a base and a body. The bases a and b overlap and are provided, respectively, with interlocking tongues a' and b and grooves a2 and b2, which receive said tongues. Theinner edges of the two tongues are undercut or transversely beveled, so as to interlock, as stated, and they extend obliquely at a slightangle to the length of the members, whereby the longitudinal movement, in the direction which tends to bring the ends into line, of one member relative to the other will canse the two members to be drawn toward each other. By inner edges of the tongues are meant the edges nearest the bodies of the members of which they are a part.

The bodies ai b3 of the members A and B rise from their respective bases near the outer edges thereof, extending therefrom inward and then upward, and they are so proportioned that they will bear `upon the tops of the laterally-extended bases c of the rails C, which the chair embraces, while the upper edges of said bodies will bear against the under sides ofthe balls c of said rails. It is intended that the rail shall be supported by the top edges of these bodies rather than on the bases, there being when the rails are placed in the chair a small clearance between the bottoms of the rails and the bases of their chair members.

The inner wall a4 of the groove a2 is undercut or beveled, substantially as shown, and it extends in a direction which is substantially parallel with the rails. The outer edge of the tongue b' is likewise parallel to the rails. Its top surface extends horizontally from the groove b2 part way to the Outer edge, as at bs, and then inclines downward to that edge, as at b4, while its bottom surface b5 is beveled in the opposite direction, these two surfaces meeting at an angle, as shown, there being thus angular spaces between the surface b4 and the under side of the base a and between the surfaces b5 and a4.

When the chair members are interlocked around the rails and are moved relatively endwise in the direction stated, their oblique -interlocking tongues draw them toward each other and against the rails. In this movement toward each other the beveled lower edge b5 of the base b engages with the beveled edge a4 of the groove a2. The reaction of these two beveled surfaces upon each other causes-a slight movement of the member A, as upon a pivot, and in a direction which forces the upper edge of its body inward against the balls of the rails. At the same time the inner edge of the base b is bent upward slightly, and the tendency of this upwardly-bent base to straighten itself out maintains a pressure on the beveled surface a, whereby the upper edge of the body is held firmly against the rail-ball, as described, under all circumstances.

In the surfaces of those parts of the chair members which extend over the laterally-extended bases-c of the rails the grooves or recesses a6 b are formed. In each recess a railbond D is placed, said bond being formed of IOo copper or some analogous material. These recesses are placed about midway between the ends of the chair members and so as to extend over the joint between the rails which are in the embrace of the chair. If the members are ten inches long, these recesses should preferably be about four inches long, one inch wide, and a quarter of an inch deep, although these dimensions may be varied at will. The bonds employed shouldit in these recesses and vshould project out a trifle, as shown in Fig. 4. When the chair members are driven to place, as described, these bonds are compressed into the grooves and into intimate contact with the bases of both rails,

lthereby making an eicient electrical con nection between said rails.

A pair of bosses b" are provided on the memvber B, which bosses project loosely into holes c2 in both rails and hold the member B in place while the member A is being driven home. These bosses also prevent the contraction of the rails from enlarging the space between the rails to an extent greater than is desirable.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. A rail-chair consisting of` two members A and B having, first, the bodies 01,3 b3 adapted to engage with the tops of the rail-base and the under sides of the ball of the rail, and, second, the voverlapping bases a b provided with interlocking oblique tongues and with grooves which receive said tongues, the inner edge of the groove in the base a being beveled transversely and the outer edge of the base b being cut away on its upper surface and on its lower, the said outer edge being adapted to engage with the beveled inner edge of the groove in the base a, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A rail-chair consisting of two coperatin g members A and B, said member A having, first, the body aa adapted to engage with the top of a rail-base and the under side of the ball of the rail, second, the basecthaving the tongue a which has longitudinally-parallel obliquely-extending sides, the outer side being beveled inward upwardly, and third, the

groove a2 on the under side of said base bounded on one side by the undercut edge of 5o the tongue'a and on the other by the beveled surface a4; and the member B having, first, the body b3 adapted to engage with the top of the rail-foot and the under side of the railball, 'and second, the base bin the upper side 55 of which is the groove b2, said groove being of substantially the same width throughout and extending in an oblique direction and having its inner wall beveled outward upwardly, and third, the tongue b'on said base, said ton ue 6o b being adapted to occupy the groove a in the member A, but having its upper surface b beveled from the edge and thus near its edge out of contact with the groove a, and having its lower surface beveled at an ineline which is less steep than the incline of the edge a4, whereby said tongue b' is adapted to engage with the beveled surface a* at the point of the tongue, substantially as specified.

3. A rail-chair consisting of two members 7o A and B'having the bodies a b3 adapted to engage with the tops of the rail-base and the under sides of the ball of the rail, and overlapping bases a and b provided with inter- .locking oblique tongues and with grooves which receive said tongues, the surfaces of the bodies which contact. with the base of the rails having recesses in each direction longitudinally from the center of the chair and having end walls and side walls, combined 8o with rail-bends'which are inserted in said recesses, thev said end walls and side walls of said recesses coninin g the bonds against displacement laterally or longitudinally, said bonds before engagement with the railv being thicker than the depth of said recesses, whereby when they are placed in said recesses they project slightly beyond the same, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atix my 9o signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM E. LUDLOW. 

